Kiddushin () is a ''

masekhet A ( he, מַסֶּכֶת, Sephardic: , Ashkenazic: ; plural ) is an organizational element of Talmudic literature that systematically examines a subject, referred to as a tractate in English. A tractate/ consists of chapters (; singular: ...

'' or tractate of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

and the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, and is part of the order of

Nashim __notoc__ Nashim ( he, נשים "Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud) containing family law. Of the six orders of the Mishnah, it is the shortest. Nashim consists of seven tractates: #'' Yevamot' ...

. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

and

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

. In

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

, an engagement (''kiddushin'') is a contract between a man and a woman where they mutually promise to marry each other, and the terms on which it shall take place. The promise may be made by the intending parties or by their respective parents or other relatives on their behalf.

Structure

Kiddushin consists of 4 chapters. It has 46 mishnahs and 82 pages

gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah ...

. It is included in both Talmuds. According to

Sherira Gaon Sherira bar Hanina (Hebrew: שרירא בר חנינא) more commonly known as Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: שרירא גאון; c. 906-c. 1006) was the gaon of the Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent Geonim of his period, and the ...

in his letter, the first sugya (topic) in the Babylonian Talmud of Kiddushin is a Saboraic or

Geonic ''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders o ...

addition and was not written by

Amoraim ''Amoraim'' (Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachi ...

like the rest of the Talmud. The sugya focuses on stylistic and grammatical issues that bear no halachic or aggadic implications. Nevertheless,

Yitzchok Zilberstein Yitzchok Zilberstein ( he, יצחק זילברשטיין, also spelled Silberstein) (born 1934) is a prominent Orthodox rabbi, posek (Jewish legal authority) and expert in medical ethics. He is the ''av beis din'' of the Ramat Elchanan neighborho ...

ruled that one cannot make a

siyum A ''siyum'' ( he, סיום) ("completion"), in Judaism, occasionally spelled siyyum, is the completion of any established unit of Torah study. The most common units are a single volume of the Talmud, or of Mishnah, but there are other units of lea ...

if he has not learned the opening sugya.חשוקי חמד, Kiddushin. p. 50 (in Hebrew).

Chapter headings

# Haisha Nikneis () # Haish Mekadeish () # Haomer () # Asara Yuchasin ()

References

External links

Tractate Kiddushin Full Hebrew and English text of the Mishnah for tractate Kiddushin
on

Sefaria Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist-author Joshua Foer. Calling itself "a living library of Jewish texts", Sefa ...

Full Hebrew and English text of the Talmud Bavli for tractate Kiddushin
on

Full Hebrew text of the Talmud Yerushalmi for tractate Kiddushin
on

Full Hebrew text of the Tosefta for tractate Kiddushin
on

Mishnah Jewish marital law {{judaism-book-stub